TDWH: Labor Day hits and flops

Jerry Garcia and Janis Joplin share the stage in a scene from “Festival Express,” the documentary of a 1970 rock ‘n’ roll tour across Canada that opened in September, 2004.

Highlights of Weekenders of five, 10 and 15 years ago; TDWH stands for “This Date in Weekender History.” It’s late this week because yesterday was a holiday (I worked, of course, but had more pressing duties) and because I had to dig out three new, dusty, allergy-aggravating bound volumes, since they’re in groups of four months.

Sept. 3, 2004

MUSIC, EVENTS

• Music festivals: The Kerrville Wine & Music Festival was a given for Labor Day weekend, but we also had Jack Ingram’s overly punctuated, copy-editor’s nightmare, Jack Ingram’s Real. American. Music. Festival. at Floore’s.

The most intertesting name at the Kerrville vino bash was A.J. Croce, whose dad was the late singer-songwriter Jim Croce (who died in a plane crash in 1973) and who lost his sight for several years at age 4 thanks to a brain tumor (he later regained it in one eye). Not surprisingly, he termed his music “happy cynicism.”

At Floore’s, the second annual Ingram fest (I keep thinking I should be typing more periods) featured Joe Ely, James McMurtry, Kevin Fowler, Reckless Kelly, the Bottle Rockets and Ray Wylie Hubbard. “It’s real accommodating, like a party for everybody, including the people who are making the music,” Ingram told music writer John Goodspeed. “And a lot of times, that’s secondary.”

• Legends of San Antonio Rock: Maybe you could guess the lineup just by that title — Legs Diamond, of course, plus Starz, Montrose, Michael Schenker Group and former Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth. Looks like Weekender Editor Robert Johnson assigned this story to occasional music writer Robert Johnson. Bastard!

Turns out this is a makeup date from an April show that was postponed when Legs Diamond drummer Jeff Poole injured his knee in a karate competition.

• Margaret Cho at Majestic: The groundbreaking Asian American comic hit town for a show on her politically charged State of Emergency tour. Described as “unabashedly liberal and Bush-bashing,” she hit town after somehow managing to get disinvited from a Democratic National Convention-related gig because of her controversial stances. “That’s alarming because that’s my party,” she said.

MOVIES

This being Labor Day weekend, the worst holiday weekend for movies except the Friday closest to New Year’s Eve (when nothing opens), it figures that the lineup includes two mainstream releases that weren’t screened in advance for critics. Not that anyone remembers the urban comedy “The Cookout” or the allegedly ripped-from-the-headlines drama “Paparazzi,” anyway.

ALSO OPENING: We did get a couple of limited-release films, including the British costume drama “Vanity Fair,” with Reese Witherspoon looking fetching in early 19th century garb; and “Wicker Park,” a remake of the French romantic drama “L’Appartemente.” The most interesting arrival was “Festival Expresss,” a documentary about a July 1970 rock ‘n’ roll caravan traveling across Canada by train that featured the Band, the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin, who died two months later.

(Express-News File Photo)

A sparse crowd applauds Starship’s set during Starfest in 1999. The inaugural Labor Day weekend bash turned out to be a one-shot deal.

Sept. 3, 1999

MUSIC, EVENTS

• Starfest: This was an attempt to provide the sort of big, all-things-to-all-people bash that San Antonio has lacked on Labor Day weekend. To be held in a six-block area on Broadway from Maverick Park to I-37, the three-day bash touted a lineup that included 100 bands and featured Starship, Kool & the Gang, Edgar Winter, K.C. & the Sunshine Band, War, C+C Music Factory, Chuck Negron, the Blazers and La Tropa F. But there were warning signs that things wouldn’t go as advertised. Cheap Trick, Salt-n-Pepa and Eddie Money had been announced, then dropped from the lineup, and a rival promoter sued, saying he had Maverick Park reserved. But his request for a restraining order was rejected. Plus, a band made up of ex-Doobie Brothers was billed in press materials as SMB/Doobie Brothers, which violated a court order.

So how’d it go? Uh, badly. Promoters called it a success, citing difficulties as typical of start-up events. But reports from staffers cited a litany of problems — stages that weren’t built on time (construction was still in progress when the fest opened Friday night) or poorly constructed (KC initially refused to play), bands that didn’t show up (like C+C Music Factory) or were late (Kool & the Gang played two hours behind schedule) and poor attendance (promoters claimed 10,000 attendance Saturday night, but an E-N reporter said only 250 witnessed the start of Starship’s set).

The best evidence that things didn’t go as planned? There never was a Starfest II.

MOVIES

• “Outside Providence”: This tale of a dead-end kid turned prep school student (Shawn Hatosy) who falls for cute preppie Amy Smart seemed like a big deal at the time, mainly because it was written and produced by the Farrelly brothers, who were coming off “There’s Something About Mary,” and was based on Peter Farrelly’s semi-autobiographical book. But the movie, a drama with comedy, was promoted as “the new outrageous comedy from the guys who did ‘There’s Something About Mary,’ ” which displeased Peter Farrelly. A rep for Miramax Picture admitted the marketing was a bit of a misdirection ploy.

Obviously, it didn’t work. The film didn’t even crack the box office Top 10 opening weekend, trailing even the awful Cuba Gooding Jr. comedy “Chill Factor.”

Further proof that Labor Day weekend used to have lots more big-ticket events than it does now.

• George Strait in Alamodome: George’s second annual country music festival also featured Wynonna, Clay Walker, Doug Stone, Faith Hill (yes, she was fifth-billed), Dan Seals and Little Texas. And what’s this? An actual interview with George? An excerpt from the concert preview:

“We’re trying to build it into the biggest country music festival that we can possibly do,” he said in a rare interview … Strait was particularly enthused about the Claire Brothers’ sound system that will be used at the festival.

“After last year’s show, I heard a lot of complaints about the sound. It upset me,” he said. “It (the Alamodome) was a new building for us to work in, so it was kind of tough. But I definitely wanted the sound to be right this time. I was at the Eagles show and I though the sound was pretty good.”

“It’s tough in a big building like that, I don’t care what kind of sound you use,” he said. “They are talking about some new systems now where they’re conquering it (problems) a little bit. For three years we’ve been playing the Astrodome and the difference in the sound back when I first started playing and now, it’s like night and day.”

• Fleetwood Mac at SeaWorld: Bad Company opened this show, which, if my experience held true, involved folks frying all day on the U.S. Map trying to hold onto a primo spot. This particular Mac incarnation featured Dave Mason, Billy Burnette and Bekka Bramlett augmenting the always-there rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. Concerning the new lineup, Fleetwood told music writer Jim Beal Jr., “Bekka (who worked with Fleetwood in his group Zoo) is taking over now and Bekka is not expected to be the new Stevie Nicks. Bekka is her own talent. The nice thing about Bekka is she comes from a family that brought her up around music. She’s a young lady, but she has a maturity in regard to her music that is uncommon for someone her age. She blends really well and she’s very musical.

“Dave Mason is of the same mettle as John and myself. And Billy, who some people forget has been in Fleetwood Mac for 10 years, has those great bloodlines also.”

• Luis Miguel at Convention Center Arena: As if Strait and the Mac weren’t enough, rising star Luis Miguel, 24, hit town having recorded a duet with Frank Sinatra, “Come Fly With Me.” He joined Strait on the “Duets II” CD — Strait had recorded “Fly Me to the Moon.” The duets were electronic; the aging Sinatra had already done his parts.

MOVIES

It wsa the usual unspectacular mix of summer leftovers, including “A Simple Twist of Fate,” based on “Silas Marner” and starring Steve Martin as a hermit whose life is changed by a child; the urban drug drama “Fresh”; and the heartwarming comedy “Milk Money,” in which Ed Harris’ kid buys him a hooker (Melanie Griffith).